Assessment of Noise at Food and Drink Facility – Dublin, Ireland

Client – Food and Drink Manufacturer

Scope – A major drinks manufacturer required an assessment of noise at their main manufacturing facility in Ireland to determine whether noise levels in one of their process rooms was exceeding noise exposure limits for employees. It was considered that noise from a number of process compressors was causing exposure in certain areas to exceed the lower action levels, and was being exacerbated by the highly reverberant environment. Noise measurements were undertaken in the process room, confirming that noise levels in the area were above exposure limits. It was found that the noise was breakout from the various outlet pipes, rather than the compressor itself.

Solution – Rather than specify an acoustic enclosure, encompassing the compressor and pipework, acoustic lagging was specified to specifically reduce noise breakout from the pipes. Once installed, it was found that this cost effective solution reduced noise in the manufacturing area significantly, and brought noise levels down below the lower action levels for the area.